New Role Enriches Gibson

On Nov. 14, 1965, Lieutenant Colonel Harold Moore and a platoon of young troopers landed in Vietnam for the first major encounter between the soldiers of North Vietnam and America. That battle sets the scene for the new film “We Were Soldiers.”

The film is based on the book "We Were Soldiers Once...And Young", written from personal experience by now retired Lieutenant General Hal Moore and civilian war correspondent Joseph Galloway. What they remember was the horror of war and the honor of men.

"You know, they were trapped in there,” the movie’s star, Mel Gibson, told The Early Show's Mark McEwen . “And they were greatly outnumbered. And they experienced three days of a blood bath. Many of them didn't come back. A lot did. And it's just that story, it's their story," explains Gibson.

To research his role, Gibson met Colonel Moore, now retired Gen. Moore. "He was very generous,” the actor said.
“He allowed me insights into who he was that I doubt that he lets everyone there.

“He gives you every edge you can possibly have. And he walks away-- not from the battle, but from this. He was gracious enough to walk away and just let it happen, because he doesn't know how to make films. And he trusted."

“We Were Soldiers” is the fourth war film Gibson has researched. The others were “Gallipoli,” “Braveheart”, and “The Patriot.”

"It's my own personal kind of like, 'Man, I hope I never have to do that.' I hope none of mine ever have to do it. That might even be harder, to send your children away, you know. "Gibson explains.

"What did I learn about war?" he asks. "That flesh and blood only gets you so far. That a lot more is required. When you look at these guys and what they had to go through in order to face insurmountable odds, or the horror, the hell of it, and do what you have to do and functions, requires something beyond human capability. And that the spirit is required."

In the movie, a young soldier asks his character, Colonel Moore, about being a soldier and a father. And the reply is, "Hopefully, one makes you better at the other."

"I wondered about that when I read it," says Gibson. "And the answer came back fairly rapidly. It is that Colonel Moore, retired Gen. Moore now, regarded his boys, his soldiers, as his sons. He really did. And he loved them as such. And in return, they gave him that allegiance that one owes to a father, and that respect. And they would do anything for him. The selflessness and sacrifice for each other is very like what you'll do in a family. And very like what you'll do for your kid. And that is the level of regard he had for his men"

To this day, more than 36 years later, Moore still feels guilt and remorse for the hundreds of men who were lost in this battle. It still eats at his soul.

"How could it not? Really, think about that, if it was you,” Gibson says. “He doesn't shrink away and say, 'Well, it was his fault,' or any of that. It's not his fault. But he certainly bears the responsibility of everything that happened, and is willing to take it all. You know, it's an honor to meet people like that. To actually play somebody like that, I'm the richer for it. So it was a profound experience for me, too," says Gibson.